An experienced fisherman understands that a sled in winter is not only entertainment, but also an indispensable assistant for running fishing. When you have to walk more than one kilometer on the ice of a reservoir in a day, you understand this especially well. If you are lucky and the catch is very rich, it will be quite difficult to carry it in a backpack on your back. And at the same time you need to drag both the box and the ice screw, which you can’t do without. In such a situation, you want to give up winter fishing forever, which suddenly turned from a favorite form of recreation into a severe punishment.
And during regular fishing, if the fishing spot is a fair distance from the parking lot, a sled can also come in handy. It’s not very pleasant to sweat in the cold, carrying all the belongings that you might need on a distant hole, from which you don’t really have to run to the car and back. And if you sweat, you can easily catch a cold, which is another argument in favor of purchasing a fishing sled.
Based on all that has been said above, the sled can be placed on a par in importance with a fishing box. It’s true that the boxes are also equipped with runners, but their capacity cannot be compared with conventional runners. Even an insulated jacket won't fit in the drawer. What if you have to go fishing and spend the night on the ice? Then without winter tent can't get by. And besides this, it would not be superfluous to have an inflatable mattress for relaxation, a supply of food, warm things such as a blanket, sweaters and the like, in a word, everything that can help cope with the cold on a winter night. By the way, it’s not a bad idea to have a compact tent heater for this case. And if you are also the happy owner of an echo sounder, which also requires space, then the issue of transportation comes to the fore.
To deliver all this considerable cargo to the fishing site, you simply cannot do without a sleigh. And best suited for the conditions winter fishing drag sleigh. In these ordinary sleds with medium-high sides, all fishing belongings can be placed quite easily. They also hold the entire catch. Such drags weigh little, take up little space in the car, and themselves are quite durable. By the way, drag sleds are also good for a regular ski trip, as an alternative to a backpack, which is still a pleasure to carry around on your back all day, for example, along a forest path!
The material from which the drags are made is called “profiled polyethylene”. As the name suggests (polyethylene), this material does not crack when impacted during severe frost, which allows the sled to be used even in the most extreme conditions of the north. In itself, it is very light, which is an additional advantage, providing structures with minimal weight. And, naturally, it has excellent gliding on ice. Such properties allow the “polyethylene” sled to be moved with little effort, which is very important when long-distance transportation of cargo is necessary, when strength needs to be saved for the actual fishing process itself.
Seeming at first glance very fragile, drag sleighs, due to their manufacture from the frost-resistant material described above, will last you several winter seasons. At the same time, their cost is small. And the convenience of using them cannot be overestimated. After all, when the sled is not used for fishing, it is quite possible to ride a child on it in the snow, do active winter holidays. So, when you buy them, you will gain much more than you spend. They take up little space in the apartment, since they are an ordinary “trough”, moreover, of a rather flat shape.
By the way, it is precisely thanks to its shape that these sleds are so irreplaceable on the ice of a reservoir. They have excellent stability due to their low center of gravity. If a fisherman's winter box on runners can only be dragged along smooth ice, otherwise it will turn over, then the sled will pass without problems on the most difficult hummocks, which are usually sufficient in our weather conditions.
As a rule, people rarely go on winter fishing alone. And for a friendly group of ice fishing lovers, we can advise you to purchase several sleds of the same size, which will easily fold into one another, and thanks to this feature, take up little space in your car. Or, as an option, you can buy one large common sled, if all the fishermen on a fishing trip are located compactly - in the neighborhood, and there is little point in large quantities there are no sleighs.
Sometimes the sleds are so large that they have to be towed with special equipment. Then the draft power of man is replaced by horsepower snowmobile. This is an ideal option for group night fishing on the ice of a reservoir, when the fishing spot is far away and you need to collect a lot of things.
But in this situation, take care of reliable fastenings for your cargo. The path along a pond is rarely smooth; the sled can often tilt and bounce at high speeds. Therefore, it would be a good idea to secure your luggage with cords for the shoulder expander. Then you won’t have to regret things lost on the road upon arrival.
We hope that the information presented has convinced you of the indispensability of such an important attribute of winter fishing as a sled. And the choice of sleds in the trade is quite large and will satisfy every taste.
Sleds for winter fishing in the store Route
1. We work with the most reliable suppliers of quality goods of Russian and foreign brands.
2. We work without intermediaries, which allows us to keep affordable prices and apply a flexible system of discounts on goods.
3. In our store you can pay for purchases in any way convenient for you: cash to the courier, online payment, bank transfer.
4. Delivery of fishing sleds is carried out throughout Russia using the most reliable transport companies.
5. We comply with the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, we guarantee the return of your money or exchange of goods in cases provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
gumo 28-12-2012 22:53
Greetings.
Does it make sense to use drag sleds when winter hiking in wooded areas? Are they only for walking on crusty snow, or will they also go on loose snow?
There was a related topic before
Green7.62 29-12-2012 12:09
Greetings. Does it make sense to use drag sleds when winter hiking in wooded areas? Are they only for walking on crusty snow, or will they also go on loose snow?
1. Depending on how dense the forest is, if you go through clearings - no problem, if through the forest with rubble - it’s better with one backpack (not every maneuver can be performed with a drag).
2. It depends on how much you load on the drag (this is about powder/crust), but in general, due to the area of the drag, it almost always goes comfortably.
Werewolf_Zarin 29-12-2012 01:36
Stag-beetle 29-12-2012 07:35
quote: Does it make sense to use drag sleds when winter hiking in wooded areas?
Eat.
gumo 29-12-2012 07:43
to Werewolf_Zarin,
Thank you!
Stag-beetle 29-12-2012 07:45
quote: They need a wider belt to make it comfortable.
IMHO, but instead of a belt, it is more convenient to have lines made from a narrow, flat and soft sling, simply thrown over the shoulders through the neck and coming out under the armpits. In this case the work ski poles, when moving, it turns out to be more effective and there is no need for any belts with an intricate fastening system. If you wish, you can tie the lines together with a string on your chest, but this is usually not necessary.
Werewolf_Zarin 29-12-2012 10:34
quote: Originally posted by gumo:
to Werewolf_Zarin,
If it’s not too much trouble, post a photo of the belt you’re currently using.
Thank you!
After NG there is no question)) Yes, the usual wide one. I don't wear shoulder pads, spine
cadmium 29-12-2012 18:50
About 20 years ago, in our translated American oil magazine, I saw a mini-beam drag sled for a snowmobile. Made of fiberglass, rigid, for overnight accommodation for 2 people. I liked it very much. For expeditions. Then they probably just appeared. The front part of them was lower, the back part with a door and a window was higher. They climbed into them and laid down, apparently, feet first, with their heads towards the door. For the BP, an ideal mobile shelter that can be well insulated and heated economically. I think he can swim if necessary, because... its bottom is like a punt boat. Unfortunately, I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. But it can be towed by a car. And how to use it as a roof rack for a car.
gumo 29-12-2012 21:52
On the Russian market now I see two types of industrially produced drag nets - soft (PVC) and hard (polypropylene?) For loose snow, in my opinion better hard ones. If they are not overloaded, the “failure” will be minimal, therefore it will be easier to pull them.
Werewolf_Zarin 30-12-2012 11:55
Hard ones are better anyway, there’s another funny feature,
I made holes on the sides and threaded a piece of paracord through there, tying the sled tightly to the backpack; when there is a problem area, you just throw the backpack over yourself, and the sled is on it, went and took it out into the snow and dragged it further.
There is only one drawback, as I see it, snow accumulates on the back of the backpack. Although I think if you go far, you can get confused by covering it with a piece of polyethylene or something like that.
taupin 30-12-2012 12:51
Although I think if you go far, you can get confused by covering it with a piece of polyethylene or something like that.
There are capes for backpacks, all possible sizes and colors, put them on and don’t worry.
v0id 30-12-2012 19:04
I use these, the first time I took them was on hunting skis without sticks, I'm fucking tired of dragging them! It’s just a small hill, and you stand still, like on a treadmill... so at least one pole is required. Another subtlety - the sled travels along your ski track and rolls from one ski track to another... it happens that one edge falls into the ski track, and the sled safely turns over, so you need to distribute the weight correctly and be sure to bandage all the luggage. And make the rope longer, otherwise the sleigh will be on its heels, i.e. skis to step on.
p.s. As for wooded areas. It is in the scavenger forest that it is simply impossible to maneuver with them. It’s hard to climb on skis, and then there’s the sled... But in a sparse forest, in principle, it’s possible.
Konstantin12 30-12-2012 20:01
quote: Originally posted by v0id:
be sure to bandage all luggage
That's right. I drilled holes in the top edges of the sides and made a criss-cross wrap of cord to tie the load. The center of gravity of the load should be as low as possible.
quote: But in a sparse forest, it’s basically possible.
I only walk with them along clearings and abandoned roads, it’s impossible in the forest, “they don’t go where they need to go,” the rope gets caught, it’s a total mess. I think that if you need to deliver a load weighing no more than 40 kg, it’s better to take it a good running backpack with an orthopedic suspension.
Stag-beetle 31-12-2012 16:00
quote: just a small hill, and you stand still,
in fact, the load should be distributed: half in the backpack, the other half in the sled. Then you won't slip. However, the tactics and features of moving over rough terrain with cargo sleds (sleds) were worked out by tourists a long time ago. By the way, complex sports trips without a sled are sometimes impossible. They significantly reduce physical activity.
Konstantin12 31-12-2012 16:08
quote: Originally posted by Stag-beetle:
Complex sports trips without a sled are sometimes impossible. They significantly reduce physical activity.
quote: Originally posted by Konstantin12:
I think that if you need to deliver cargo weighing no more than 40 kg, it’s better to take a good running backpack with an orthopedic suspension.
I don’t know what’s more of a burden - dragging a backpack through fresh snowy “virgin lands”, or toiling around with a sled stuck in this “virgin lands”? Well, on the ice of a frozen river/lake, here the sleds are beyond competition, or in the tundra. in a mountainous and forested area where there is no route laid out in advance, I think it’s better without them, though.
gumo 31-12-2012 17:22
Practical men, I didn’t understand much. Do you load the drags “from the heart” - they go more stable, but on the “powder” they get stuck and go hard? If you load without fanaticism, they fall through the powder less, they go easier, but they start to get thrown around on the track and turn over?
Did I draw the right conclusions?
Konstantin12 31-12-2012 19:29
quote: Originally posted by gumo:
You load the drags “from the heart”
quote: Originally posted by gumo:
Load without fanaticism
In my photo, the backpack that I was carrying on the sled weighed 48 kg. The 7 km that I walked to the place with the sled, I would have walked faster with the backpack on my back, but my back would most likely have been tired and could have responded to such “carelessness.” If “without fanaticism,” as you write, maybe it’s better to load a sled without a sled? Especially if you are a little old and have no health problems. As I noted earlier, my opinion is that sleds are not for the forest. In the end In the end, it’s better to take breaks more often and take off your backpack, giving your back a rest, than to swear, suffering with the slowing sled.
Troglodytes 01-01-2013 11:55
“Practical men, I don’t understand much. Do you load the drags “from the heart” - they go more stable, but on the “powder” they get stuck, they go hard? You load without fanaticism - they fail less in the “powder”, they go easier, but they start to be thrown on the ski track, turn over?
Did I draw the right conclusions?"
The conclusions are correct = this is physics. But in my opinion, drags are needed if the load is heavy, and if the sled is not loaded, then they are not needed. In general, it’s hard without a sled in winter, because if there are two or one porters, then it’s hard to carry a tent, sleeping bags, stoves, benches! And in powdery conditions, the sled should not nod off, so it must be loaded correctly and attached to you as high as possible, such as not to the belt, but to the shoulders...
Konstantin12 01-01-2013 13:08
If there are a couple of porters or one, then it’s hard to carry a tent, sleeping bags, stoves and benches!
That’s right. I myself constantly go alone, I gradually came to the idea that “just hiking” is too hard entertainment for a single person. Therefore, I somewhat changed the goals of my stay in the taiga. I go light, find an interesting, “strong” Place, then drag myself there
quote: tent, sleeping bags, stoves - benches,
And there I begin to “survive” - with a feeling of “deep moral satisfaction.”)
Harding 18-01-2013 11:04
HUMMELschmel 21-01-2013 19:04
quote: Originally posted by Werewolf_Zarin:
I use these, I don’t climb bushes, but I do a lot of poaching. The plastic is good and doesn’t break in the cold, they need a wider belt, it’s comfortable with it.
http://saint-petersburg.irr.ru...t237857789.html
Dragging is easier than carrying. But he killed the drags in one exit. Wire on the ice, they rubbed the guide runners - Volokushi Ladoga 2. The material is polyethylene - is it possible to somehow reanimate them. Is it better to somehow modify the new ones - make blades for them?
HUMMELschmel 21-01-2013 19:18
quote: Originally posted by Troglodytes:
The conclusions are correct = this is physics. But in my opinion, drags are needed if the load is heavy, and if the sled is not loaded, then they are not needed. In general, it’s hard without a sled in winter, because if there are two or one porters, then it’s hard to carry a tent, sleeping bags, stoves, benches! And in powdery conditions, the sled should not nod off, so it must be loaded correctly and attached to you as high as possible, such as not to the belt, but to the shoulders...
the center of gravity must be maintained. I felt the load on the belt, that is, if it were higher between the belt and the shoulder blades, it would be easier. Like the systems from the movie "The Day After Tomorrow"
Lev007 22-01-2013 10:26
quote: Dragging is easier than carrying. But he killed the drags in one exit. Wire on the ice, they rubbed the guide runners - Volokushi Ladoga 2. The material is polyethylene - is it possible to somehow reanimate them. Is it better to somehow modify the new ones - make blades for them?
All snowmobile sleds are being modernized.
Several strips of aluminum or thick polyethylene or propylene are attached to the bottom.
To do this, large diameter pipes are cut.
Plastic is very fragile in the cold...
Articles about ski equipment for tourism are in constant reader demand (tag). There are few intelligible articles on this topic, and even fewer pictures. And it’s very difficult to transfer experience between the close but rare ranks of ski tourism fans.
From this point of view, our trip to the Subpolar Urals in March 2012 was very productive in terms of impressions. See the crazy video " ". We were satisfied with the equipment (skis, boots, bindings), which is rare. But first things first.
ski tourist from Belarus in full gear, including firewood for the stove)
As a starter, my short article about ski tourism in Ugra. This is for those who know nothing at all about ski tourism, but would like to find out. Not about the one in the Alps with mulled wine, but about the one with a backpack in the Subpolar Urals. The article is decorated with magnificent photographs of Sergei Chelyshev.
Further, everything is more detailed and serious: read only for those who are in the know.
On the double-page spread you can see a Belarusian in the valley of the BalbanYu River against the backdrop of Mount Starik-Iz. He has alpine skiing"ski-tour" type and Silvretta 400 ski-tour bindings with a heel that can be fastened if necessary. These mounts allow you to use plastic climbing boots (popularly called “plastas”). Ski touring kits are functionally designed primarily for descents, and a little bit for walking, because the foot does not work in the most natural way in them. The scope of application of such a kit is steep alpine-type mountains; short walks in areas without ski lifts. They are not well suited for multi-day autonomous travel.
Joint start of the hike
The entire Belarusian group was equipped with ski touring equipment. We discovered this on the Moscow-Vorkuta train, which carried us to the North. I was tense - maybe we missed something in the preparation!
Based on the results of the campaign, I can safely say that their equipment is too much for the Urals. There are not many slopes for hard ski-tour crepes here, especially if the goal is not skiing from the mountains, but completing a linear route. Even on the train, the Belarusians attached skins to their skis so that they would never (!) take them off. That is, the rolling function of skis was excluded in advance! Walking left. Anyone who has walked on kamus on a flat surface, not a kilometer, not two, but dozens, will say that this is a mockery. Yes, even in ski tour - crepes. In general, I did not understand the Belarusians in terms of movement strategy. But in terms of bivouac, they had the best.
To Mount Narodnaya ( highest point Ural) we climbed on “parallel” courses from Lake Krugloye (Bublik) - the classic route of ascent. “Parallel” because they went on foot from the very bottom along the spur, and we skied along the couloir (even snowmobiles can climb it). We met on the pre-summit plateau. But the point is not even in the ascent - skiing here gives an undeniable gain in time, but in the descent! - In that insane pleasure, adrenaline rush - the reward for the ascent. In general, we burned down the path of ascent in hellish heavenly positivity. The couloir is good!
We didn’t even wear camouflage that day. There were enough notches on our backcountry skis. There are no notches on ski touring skis, because they are not needed in big mountains.
And more! Important figures: the weight of the Silvretta 400 bindings is about 2.1 kg. This is not counting the weight of ski touring skis (2.5-3.5 kg), layers (2.5-3 kg) - it turns out that there is a fucking heaviness on your feet, 3.5 kg per leg! But also a backpack and a sled.
For comparison, my kit:
- skis Madshus Eon ( 83-62-70 mm - the narrowest of the three-type "cross-country-downhill" line of this manufacturer) is 2 kg steam at 185 cm length (close-up);
- Voile 3-pin crepes about 0.4 kg;
- leather boots Crispi Antartic 0.9 kg.
Total 1.7 kg per leg.
Seryozha tells how to adapt mountain boots to “fighting” bindings. And about much more: about skis, bindings in detail. I also tell you about mine.
Ski boots Krispy Antarctic and Fisher. Functionally very good. Ideally fits the mentioned 3-pin mounts. Vibram sole. The first ones are easier to dress, but the material is subject to fading: the skin is hit by stones and scratched by cats, absorbed with moisture along the way, and becomes dull.
Fisher's are more wear-resistant, with laces, zippers and clips, but they breathe less well and dry poorly. They don't dress well when they're cold.
Both of them used them without shoe covers. The whole hike was very cold in the morning -25-27, and during the day it was warmer in the sun - the snow had turned sour. The first 20-30 minutes in the morning my feet are cold. Perhaps this has more to do with physiology than with the presence/absence of Thinsulate or any membranes. It is necessary to warm up your feet and boots as much as possible before going out.
We used gasoline catalytic heating pads to dry the boat in the tent at night. With varying degrees of success. The boots dry out, but sometimes the heating pads suffocate - they need an air flow, which is not enough in the boots. The Kovea VKH-PW05M heating pad provides a more uniform and longer burning, while our military GK-1 heats more strongly and is consumed faster. We used purified gasoline for lighters. It stank...
We met the Poles - they were happy for our skis. They themselves were almost on walks. Offtrack-cruising racing skis with sluggish knurling. I must say that they (and all of us) were lucky with the snow - there was little of it. If there were a lot of it, everyone would flop down, and the Poles most of all.
About sleigh-drags! We had one sled for three of us with a common fund. About 10-12 kg in weight. No more loading! They took turns carrying each other. The material is awesome - thesis, the slipperiness is excellent, good dimensions for tracking - fits into the ski track. But everyone always wanted to quickly get rid of this tail. And it doesn’t matter what it is: a mesh bag like ours, or a plastic sled like the Belarusians have.
The general negative points are the same:
1) The lower back begins to get tired faster and more strongly. When walking, the drag moves jerkily, no matter what you think of. An unpleasant load cannot be avoided. It's pulling on the lower back! So if you are planning to take a trailer to the mountain ski trip, I advise you to break it in! And not on a city ski track, but on a mountain track, and with a backpack of 25 kg... - you will look like a complete idiot, but you will get a fairly accurate impression of the ride;
2) It gets especially tough on the descents, when you have to ride in a zigzag, and the damn bag rolls along the line of maximum fall. Jerks take you out of mental and physical balance! Traverses are also taken out.
Good luck and health on the ski track!
Gear Reviews
In the first part of the article, we discussed with you the selection and preparation of equipment for ski tourism. Boots, socks, bindings, the skis and poles themselves, additional accessories have already been mentioned. But this is not enough for difficult winter hikes. For long treks across snowy plains, you need something more suitable than a backpack. Modern backpacks are good for everyone, but carrying a load on yourself is more difficult than carrying it along. So, in the second part of the article we will tell you about drag sleighs, which are an integral attribute of ski expeditions.
Modern industry offers many options. Inflatable cheesecakes of various shapes, plastic troughs of various volumes. The first roads are not always convenient to use, so we will consider the second option. Quite recently, the AlpIndustriya chain of stores put on sale sleds with the romantic name “Arctic”. Essentially, this is a plastic trough made of light and durable plastic, which the buyer can modify independently in accordance with his requirements. These are exactly the sleds that were purchased and prepared by the author.
We offer the easiest way to modify your sled. We drill holes along the entire top side. They are needed to insert the cord and secure luggage or attach the sled to the backpack. It is more convenient to do this using the lacing method. And it is better to use two shorter cords than one long one. We start with careful measurements and markings. “Measure twice, cut once.”
But how can you pull the drags behind you? Let's consider soft hitch. Drill two holes in the front wall of the sled. A rope with a diameter of 8 mm is suitable as a power rope. But we don’t just push it through the holes, we encircle the sleigh around the perimeter. The rope will be secured by the previously threaded cord. Thus, the main load falls on the entire frame of the sled, and not on the front wall. Accordingly, the risk of breaking the drags is reduced. This method of transportation was successfully tested by the author on a hike.
The luggage was secured and the rope was threaded. But how to pull? So, you need a harness. As such, you can use a universal gazebo. The author chose for himself Petzl Pandion With wide range adjustments and top hinge. Well, then it’s a matter of taste. You can tie a rope into a loop, or you can use one D-shaped carabiner or two “ovals”. It is advisable to use carabiners with mechanical couplings, because “automatic machines” can fail in difficult winter conditions.
Of course, this is far from the only way to prepare a sled. The cord can be replaced with slings. For greater convenience, you can use plastic fastex. But these solutions will require more time and money. The purpose of this article was to present the simplest and, at the same time, reliable way to prepare a drag sled for a ski trip. We hope that our advice will be useful to you.
Winter is not over yet. We have a whole month left to go on a ski trip. We wish you new adventures!!!
A winter hike increases both the number of things for a comfortable trip, as well as their volume and weight, cap. If a summer down sleeping bag takes up about a liter, then for a winter one you need all 6. If in the summer a collet gas cylinder will provide three people with boiling water for 3 days, then in the winter, when melting snow and ice, such a cylinder flies away in a day. Spare warm gloves, socks, clothing and shoes for bivouac are placed in the backpack. The thickness of the rug in winter increases by two or three. All equipment for a long winter hike, of course, will fit into a 100-liter backpack. But you can divide some of your things between a backpack and a drag, or even fit all your things in an expedition sled, as was the case on our ski trip to Chukotka.
The drag has enough advantages to start using it. Firstly: the sled will allow you to carry much more cargo than you can carry on yourself (this also applies to volume). If you are also a happy owner walking dog, then you can teach him to help pull the strap. Our drags weighed approximately 40 kilograms for a trip lasting 2 weeks. We had no difficulties transporting them; we felt that we could pull the sled with a much heavier weight. During the day we managed to walk at least 25 kilometers, while we had a 2-hour lunch, and in the evening we did not feel completely exhausted.
Secondly: when moving with drags, if you use a special harness, your back will not sweat under the backpack, and this is not only comfortable from a hygienic point of view. Wet clothes suck the warmth out of you, which is already lacking in winter.
Thirdly: a drag can be used on a bivouac to transport goods: firewood, ice for water, snow blocks for a wall. And also for evacuating the victim.
Fourth: it is comfortable to sit on the drag, and to lie on the long one while resting. Looking at foreign expedition sleds, you come to the conclusion that they can also be used for spending the night in a critical situation, they are so roomy.
Well, in general, the word volokusha makes you smile.
But before you go on a dragging trip, you need to understand the nature of the terrain. Volokushi are ideal for winter travel in the open tundra, along frozen bodies of water - the sea or lake. That is, when moving on crust, dense snow, or even on ice.
If there is not a lot of loose snow, on our trip it happened that the foot with the ski went into the snow about 30 cm, the drag also rode well and did not get buried. The last traveler walked just as comfortably on a rut rolled in soft snow as on a dense crust.
I foresee that in very loose knee-deep snow, where a path is needed, a heavy drag will bury itself in the snow and interfere with progress. When hiking in such conditions, you will need to distribute some of your things between the backpack and the drag to make the latter lighter, or abandon the drag altogether.
When we crossed the floodplains of the rivers, moving with the drags became more difficult: it began to cling to the trees that grow in such places. We had to maneuver between bushes or wade through them, breaking thin branches and impressions of tourists as well-mannered people. I don’t know if tourist skiers go through forests with windbreaks, but when planning a route with drags through the forest, you need to take into account that the drags can impede progress.
It will be inconvenient with drags if there are long traverses of mountains on the route, moving along rivers with steep banks, in general, anywhere where you have to walk along a slope.
An important point that should be mentioned: the skis must have notches, or skins, because now you have to not only slide forward, but also pull the load from behind. If you go with a backpack, the inconvenience on skis without notches will only arise when moving up a steep hill, but otherwise you just have to move your feet.
Moving with a sled looks a little different: the drag holds it, so to move forward, the ski should not slip back. In other words, you need to rest your ski on the snow in order to push off and pull the drag. I experienced the effect of this factor on the first day of the hike. I had to unload the drag: give some of the equipment to friends, and put a backpack on my back. To avoid being in my situation, you need to choose the right ski size.
When moving with drags, it is necessary to place the center of gravity of your load as low as possible. The higher your luggage, the more likely it is that the drag on sastrugi, deep snow, or crooked ruts will turn over. Ideally, the height of the load will not be greater than the width of the drag.
From this rule, one of the main rules, by the way, a corollary follows: the more cargo you have, the longer the drag should be in order to reduce the height of the luggage. This is where, in my opinion, lies an obvious sign of why in our country so few people walk with drag bags, but more and more with backpacks. But in Russia they don’t produce normal expedition sleds, as it turns out! There are a huge number of modifications of short, so-called fishing drags, up to a meter long, I can’t even imagine why engineers gave birth to a dozen of their varieties. For 1-3 days, your camping things will fit there quite well, and I have such a short drag.
More or less close to sleigh expeditions Russian market there are only two names: Arktika drag skids, produced by Chris Group, measuring 120x40x20 cm (pictured on the left), and SO-5 drag nets, made by Nor-Plast, measuring 157x55x14 cm (in the center). And if the first ones are narrow and still a bit short, then the second ones are damn low!!!
Well, what is it? In a country that is famous for its frosts, the non-European part of which the whole world calls nothing less than Syberia, where multi-week ski tourism is developed, there are no normal expedition sleds! Google: expedition snow pulk, and you will see the whole variety of drags that foreigners offer for, unfortunately, a simply unrealistic price tag.
Volokusha Arctic
Volokusha SO-5
There is another option for drags for tourism: teza drags, but I don’t consider them at all. I read that the quality of production of the batches is completely different, the places where the traction belt is attached cause complaints, their volume is not at all large, and most of all I don’t like the process of stuffing such drags with equipment. The only option for using such drags, I see, is to transport soft bivouac equipment: a sleeping bag, tent or rugs and, thus, reducing the volume of the backpack on your back. But for this I have a short plastic drag, which, moreover, will last much longer.
The Arctic drag can be used for winter hikes lasting about a week, if you go without a backpack. This drag, based on its useful dimensions, will replace approximately a 100-liter backpack. Let me remind you that in winter, not only weight is added, but also volume due to warmer equipment. If the drag was 10-15 centimeters wider, it would hold much more things.
Your dog can help you with your dragging trip!
For my trip, I chose a CO-5 drag, since our trip consisted of 2 parts lasting 2 weeks, and I needed to fit equipment for about 14 days. The only drawback of this drag is the low nose (and the sides, respectively), however, this feature only bothered me in a few cases.
The first of them: an area with strong sastrugi. The low nose did not run over particularly large sastrugi, or any other obstacle: the drag just stuck into it. At best, you had to go back and use the lines to lift the nose of the drag to the sastrugi. In the worst case, the drag line went under the sastrugi, they often looked like frozen waves, and you had to either try to push the drag line back so that the nose would come out from under the snow slab, or remove the slab, freeing the nose. It was completely inconvenient to do this while skiing, and from time to time I started to get mad.
But, during the 4 weeks of our hike, we found ourselves in a valley with such large sastrugi only once and spent about 3 hours in it. The rest of the time, the drag rod drove onto the sastrugi like a cute little thing, or it was simply possible to correct the movement by slightly deviating from the straight line.
In an even worse case, if I overcame an obstacle and was already sliding off it, and the drag suddenly stuck, I would fall due to the jerk of the traction belts. This happened, although very rarely, so I think it’s important to tell.
Due to the low nose, which in the SO-5, in addition, has the shape of a rounded axe, the drag sometimes rested with its nose when leaving an obstacle. To prevent this from happening, it was enough to pull the lines and accelerate the drag before it froze helplessly, buried in the snow. Such places were rare, and during the trip I learned to determine when I needed to speed up my sled, as well as those moments when I needed to help it get over an obstacle.
To my joy, and not without sympathy, I note that my partners with short fishing drags loaded high had much more trouble turning them over than I did with problems associated with the low bow.
